A razor blade is typically formed of a suitable substrate material such as stainless steel, and a cutting edge is formed with a wedge-shaped configuration with an ultimate tip having a radius. Hard coatings such as diamond, amorphous diamond, diamond-like carbon-(DLC) material, nitrides, carbides, oxides or ceramics are often used to improve strength, corrosion resistance and shaving ability, maintaining needed strength while permitting thinner edges with lower cutting forces to be used. Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) outer layer can be used to provide friction reduction. Interlayers of niobium or chromium containing materials can aid in improving the binding between the substrate, typically stainless steel, and hard carbon coatings, such as DLC.
It is desirable to improve the shape of the razor blade substrate to reduce the cutter force needed to cut hair. Such a reduction in cutter force will lead to a more comfortable shave.